Louisiana

jonathan.lupo@la.gov

Louisiana

jonathan.lupo@la.gov

Louisiana

jonathan.lupo@la.gov

Energy

Louisiana's Energy Advantages

Louisiana's existing assets offer tremendous opportunities for companies manufacturing products or delivering services to the energy industry. More than 80 percent of waterborne U.S. oil rigs are located in Louisiana, and according to the Energy Information Administration the state is No. 2 in both crude oil and natural gas production in the nation (when including offshore production).

Louisiana's established agriculture industry offers diverse alternatives to emerging clean technology companies. At the same time, skilled manufacturing talent and low company costs are benefiting manufacturers of components and designers of software critical to the efficient generation, transmission and distribution of energy. Recognizing the state's compelling advantages, companies such as Halliburton and Newpark Resources are establishing or expanding operations in Louisiana.

At the core of Louisiana's competitive advantages is the strength of its business climate. In recent years, the state has enacted reforms to create an atmosphere that Forbes magazine calls "America's new frontier for business opportunity." Louisiana now ranks in the Top 10 states in the country for business climate according to several national publications including Area Development, Business Facilities and Site Selection magazines.

Louisiana's Talent Pipeline

As a legacy producer and service provider to the energy industry, Louisiana offers tremendous intellectual capital that can be leveraged to manufacture critical components, develop technology or optimize service operations critical to all energy industries.

New investors in the state can be sure of Louisiana's continued workforce growth because the state is making strategic investments in higher education to meet the future needs of industries. Research centers and universities throughout the state fuel innovation and provide skilled workers for energy companies. A number of Louisiana universities graduate new chemical engineers each semester, including the Louisiana State University (LSU) and University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette). Additionally, LSU, Louisiana Tech, Southern University, Tulane University and UL Lafayette all have specific programs and research strengths related to the energy industry.

LSU is the only university in North America where future petroleum engineers can get hands-on training in well control by working at a full-scale research and training facility. The Petroleum Engineering Research & Technology Transfer Laboratory — also commonly referred to as the Well Facility — is an industrial-scale facility with full-scale equipment and instrumentation related to borehole technology.

Louisiana's Location Advantages

More than 1,000 Louisiana engineering, service and fabrication companies support the state's energy industry. The state's superior transportation infrastructure and proximity to abundant natural resources make doing business in Louisiana an optimal choice for energy industry operations.

Expedited Permitting Reduces Start-up Time

Louisiana understands that a company's ability to ramp up quickly and efficiently is a significant factor in its location decision. To maximize time and efficiency for companies, the state has created an expedited environmental permit-processing program, which enables Louisiana to issue permits more quickly and efficiently than almost any other state in the country.

Customized Incentive Packages

Louisiana offers the Industrial Tax Exemption Program, which provides a 100 percent property tax abatement for an initial five-year term with an option for a five-year renewal on manufacturer's qualifying capital investments.

The Quality Jobs program provides a 5 percent or 6 percent cash rebate of annual gross payroll for new, direct jobs for up to 10 years. It could also provide a 4 percent sales/use tax rebate on capital expenditures or a 1.5 percent investment tax credit for qualified expenses.

In addition, the Digital Interactive Media and Software Development Incentive — the nation's strongest, most comprehensive incentive for software development — provides a unique advantage to the energy industry. The incentive is applicable to customer-facing software including energy-specific applications like seismic evaluation, well design or 3-D visualization. Eligible projects receive a 35 percent refundable tax credit for payroll expenditures and a 25 percent refundable tax credit for qualified production expenditures. If the amount of tax credits exceeds the company's state income and franchise tax liabilities, the company receives the balance as a refund.

Louisiana values business investment, and when a company moves or expands its energy industry operations here, it can count on innovative solutions to meet the project's specific needs. For competitive projects that involve substantial new-job creation, major investment and the majority of sales to out-of-state customers, Louisiana is agile and flexible — customizing incentives and workforce solutions, aligning state and local resources, connecting a company with valuable assets, and coordinating permitting and startup activities to ensure that operations proceed smoothly and on schedule.